What Can Cause Sharp Pain in Different Parts of Body?

With more than 40 percent of Americans in the age group of 41 – 60 years complaining about sharp pain in the body at some point or the other, this is one of the major health issues that people of this age face. Regardless of the fact as to which part of the body the sharp pain affects, it hampers normal day-to-day activities of a person and causes immense discomfort in the body. When this pain hits the legs, the affected person finds it difficult to even move and walk from one place to another.

Though there are several causes of sharp pain in different parts of body, it is important to understand the cause in details as doing so will help eliminate the pain and prevent it from occurring in the future. It will also help us control the issue to a large extent as once a patient understands the cause, he starts making adjustments in his daily lifestyle according to it.

Some of the common causes which can lead to mild to moderate sharp pain in different body parts are:

Stress – Stress causes harm to various aspects of our life. Not only does it have a negative impact on behavior and ability to think and emotions; sit can also affects our physical health causing sharp pain in different parts of the body. What happens is when a person is under stress; his body produces specific hormones which can lead to pain sensitivity and tension in the muscles. Even after the stress is released, the hormones keep acting for a while thereby causing immense pain in the body for hours thereafter. It is a good idea to practice yoga or meditation on a regular basis as this helps release stress from the body as soon as it gets formed and before it can cause harm to the body and mind.

Muscle Tension – This is one of the common causes of sharp pain in different parts of body where tension in the muscles generally occur when a person lifts a heavy object with a jerk. It can also occur if a person sleeps or stands in a wrong position for hours thereby causing muscle tension in a specific body part such as legs or back. Get a good massage on the specific area as this will help release the tension and the sharp pain.

Overuse of Muscles – This is exactly what causes sharp pain in the body of athletes and bodybuilders. Athletes while playing their favorite sport and bodybuilders while doing extensive weight training often overuse their muscles which results in pain in the affected body part. This overuse can also lead to injury and in most cases; the muscles swell up giving rise to pain. It can also occur when athletes and bodybuilders practice their passion for too many hours without a break. It is important to take proper break between hours of practicing a sport or weightlifting. Without proper rest, muscles are unable to take the overload and start paining. Also, it is recommended to work out or play extensive outdoor sports 6 days a week and give the body complete rest once every week to prevent overuse of muscles.

Minor Injuries – If a person hurts himself in any way be it falling down or banging into a hard object or something similar, chances are that the part of the body receives maximum friction will pain immensely. The muscles might swell up or the skin may get bruised resulting in pain.

Low Levels of Vitamin D – This is one of the causes of sharp pain in different body parts which occurs mostly in those people who work in offices or closed buildings all day long. Vitamin D aids in calcium absorption and is also helpful in keeping the bones strong and healthy. If an individual suffers from low levels of Vitamin D only 10 to 20 percent of the calcium is absorbed from the food eaten. Moreover, as calcium plays a vital role in building healthy and strong bones, low levels of Vitamin D can make the bones pain along with being soft and weak. This in turn makes those body parts ache where the bones are not healthy enough. As the sun is one of the biggest sources of Vitamin D, it is essential to spend at least 30 to 45 minutes under the sun to load the body with good amounts of this useful vitamin.

Lack of Iron – Commonly known as anemia, the lack of iron in your blood can reduce the amount of nutrition and oxygen that gets transported to various body parts thereby giving rise to a sharp pain accompanied by a feeling of tiredness.

The above listed causes of mild to moderate sharp pain does not suggest any life threatening serious illnesses and are reversible with proper and timely diagnosis and treatment.

There are other serious illnesses which can cause severe sharp pain in different parts of the body.

Head: Severe sharp pain in the head can be due to Migraine, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Meningitis, Migraine, Tension Headache, Cavity Pain, and Cluster Headache

Chest: Angina, intercostal neuralgia, ruptured aneurysm, pneumonia, and pneumothorax can cause severe sharp pain around chest.

Abdomen: Ruptured spleen, kidney stone, gastric ulcer (peptic), peritonitis, gallstone, ureter stone, appendicitis, intestinal obstruction, obstructed hernia, and inguinal hernia can cause severe sharp pain in stomach region.

Pelvic: Ectopic Pregnancy, Ovarian Cancer, Endometriosis.

Musculoskeletal System: Fibromyalgia, radiculopathy, sciatica, disc herniation, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease.

Joint Pain: Arthritis, dislocation, and fracture.